Missing Him
by myhorserockyrocks
Summary: Romilda Vane is very upset and depressed at Cedric's funeral, so she reminices about a time spent with him while he was still alive. She recieves comfort from Sally-Anne Perks. Written for the third round of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition.


**Title: Missing Him**

**Words: 1,111**

**Rarepair: CedricRomilda**

**Position: Chaser One**

**Team: Montrose Magpies**

**Prompts: Blue, Mountains, and "When a war ends, what does that look like exactly?"**

Romilda Vane froze, tears pouring down her face as she watched the body of Cedric Diggory being lowered into the ground. His parents had decided to hold his funeral at the Hogwarts grounds so his friends and classmates could attend, so that was where Romilda was now. She had just walked by his open casket, seen his face, and that was what had started the tears more than anything. Romilda, like pretty much all of the girls at Hogwarts, had fallen in love with Cedric's handsome face as soon as she saw him. However, he had been dating that pesky girl Cho Chang, so she had not been able to act on her feelings.

Romilda, though she was only a fourth year and Cedric was in seventh, fell head over heels for him, especially after he got picked as Hogwarts Champion in the Triwizard Tournament. It even looked as though he could win the thing, only Harry convinced him they should both take the cup. Because of Harry Potter, Cedric Diggory is dead. Romilda held strongly to that belief and she resumed watching as they covered Cedric's casket up with the dirt, though she could barely hold herself together. Finally, she took off up to the Whomping Willow, sitting below the tree while she cried.

It was her friend Sally-Anne Perks that found her, but Romilda didn't want to be talked to. "Leave me alone," she said, turning away from Sally-Anne as the other girl tried to give her a hug. "I don't want to be bothered."

Sally-Anne refused to leave and instead planted herself right beside Romilda, because she knew that Romilda would need someone to talk to eventually. "You can talk to me, you know that, right?" Sally-Anne asked Romilda into the silence. Romilda nodded reluctantly and Sally-Anne continued. "I mean, I suppose it's good that you were never an item, because then it would be even harder to get over him, wouldn't it?"

Romilda shook her head. "There was that one time…"

_It was back during the end of November, and Cedric had just completed the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. Romilda wanted to give him something special as a congratulations present, so she waited for him to come into the castle. When she saw him coming, Romilda said, "Hey, Cedric. Great job out there today. I know you'll win the Tournament. I have a present for you. If you want it I can take you there."_

_ Cedric looked slightly puzzled by this and said, "Well, I guess. But why the sudden interest in me?"_

_ "I just want the Hogwarts Champion to win, that's all," Romilda said, smiling as she led the way out of the castle._

_ Cedric followed Romilda up towards the edge of the castle grounds. From where they were, they could see a beautiful view of the mountains. Romilda was struck with how perfect this was, seating in a beautiful area with Cedric Diggory, the guy she'd been crushing on since the beginning of the year. Romilda had been tempted to use love potion to get him to fall in love with her, but she wanted his feelings to be genuinely his so she'd decided against that route._

_ Now, she sat him down and sat next to him, intertwining her fingers with his before he could even realize what was happening. Cedric frowned and said, "I have a girlfriend, Romilda. I don't feel this way about you." He tried to release his fingers from her grip, but she would have none of that._

_ "Just hear me out, Cedric," Romilda said. "I've been crushing on you since the beginning of the school year. I even got you those new star charts you'd been wanting for Astronomy and this time they came in the color blue because I knew it was your favorite color! All I want is one kiss—just one—and then you won't ever have to hear from me again! Please, Cedric," she pleaded, her brown eyes widening so she looked more innocent that she was._

_ Cedric frowned, not quite knowing what to do, before he decided on the easy way out of this situation. He knew that Romilda was very talented with love potions and didn't want to cross her, so he decided on the kiss so he could just get this over with. Cedric leaned in and Romilda was only too quick to follow, so they met in a hurry at the middle. Romilda would never be able to forget the feeling of his lips on hers, gentle at first but then growing hungrier with each passing second. They started out as just calmly kissing, but then they'd transitioned to full-out snogging._

_ Eventually, however, they pulled away, both breathing heavily. Cedric looked startled that he'd let it get that far, and Romilda looked extremely satisfied with herself. However, that satisfied look dripped off her face as Cedric stood and sprinted back off up to the castle, never to look at Romilda again._

Sally-Anne stared in astonishment at Romilda's story, never having once thought this remotely possible. It kind of made her angry, actually, because she thought she was Romilda's friend, and friends would tell each other things like this. However, Sally-Anne eventually got out of her slump and said to Romilda, "Thanks for finally telling me. I bet you're hoping for the war to end, huh? That way You-Know-Who will be dead and Cedric's death will be avenged."

Romilda shook her head, turning her dark eyes on her friend. "When a war ends, what does that look like exactly?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Sally-Anne asked, frowning.

"Think about it this way. Now that there is all this pain and suffering in the world because of You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters, and I'm not the only one going through this. Cedric was alive earlier this week, but after the war is over he'll be merely a memory. I don't want that for him. Besides, when the war is over I won't have anything or anyone to distract me from the pain of losing him. Do you understand now?" Romilda asked, sounding wise beyond her years.

Sally-Anne smiled. "I guess so. I just hope you know that you can come to me for anything, right? I'll always have your back."

Romilda grinned. "I know. And I've always got your back too."

Sally-Anne chuckled at a thought before sharing it with Romilda. "You know what, Romilda? Sometimes I think you should be in Ravenclaw with me instead of Gryffindor. You are one bright and wise person."

Romilda smiled. "Thanks, Sally-Anne. I think this has helped me start to get over his death."


End file.
